JUST ONE ANGEL

DEIRDRE FLINT #19 "We'll All Meet Up Next Year (A New Year's Song)"

Deirdre Flint "We'll All Meet Up New Year"

Deirdre Flint is a former elementary school teacher. Her music has beenheard on TLC's " A Dating Story," Ireland's "What Not To Wear," and FX's,"Nip/Tuck." She's released two solo albums, "The Shuffleboard Queens," and"Then Again." She's currently tours with The Four Bitchin' Babes and livesin Philadelphia, PA.

"We'll All Meet Up Next Year" was produced by Scot Sax and is Deirdre'sfirst family collaboration (at least on CD!), as her niece, Ellie Finkenaursings background vocals on the track.

When you’re seven years old and your dad says, “Hey, we’re going for a car ride,” you don’t think anything of it. You don’t even think anything of it when it’s two weeks before Christmas.

It didn’t strike me as odd or unusual that we ended up at some guy’s house who we’d never met before. Dad was always throwing fun surprises at us. Usually it involved a trip to Burger King at the end. I’m still struggling with *that!*

Now, the reason why this guy’s house was fun was that his basement was FILLED with Lionel toy trains. In the center was a huge table with a whole town – gas stations, hotels, tunnels, bridges . . . like a modern day Lilliput. My seven-year-old mind was already making up stories of the people that lived in this miniature town, and those who took the train in and out of it.

“What do you think of this?” Dad asked. I guess he needed to check and make sure that his girls would be into trains. Our wide eyed reaction said it all.

Well, two weeks later, somehow Santa had put two and two together. When we woke up and went downstairs to find what was under the tree – it was what was beside the tree that was truly magical. That train table, with the train in motion, going round and round. Every year after that, we put that train set up and, while some people think of decorated trees when it comes to Christmas, I will always think of trains and a set of parents who made our Christmases magical!